July foliage highlights

As temperatures rise, my cool season flowers have mostly disappeared while most of my "warm" season flowers have yet to take the stage.  As dry as we've been, I'm not at all sure what kind of show I'm going to get from the usual summer flowers.  However, there are plenty of beautiful foliage plants worthy of attention.  A lot of these are succulents but there are some flashy shrubs in the mix too, as well as a few dependable workhorses.

The colorful Aloe labworana in the center of this shot is more visible since I cut back the huge Echium candicans ' Star of Madeira' above it after it finished flowering

Cutting back the flowering plants in this bed on the south side of the garden allowed the 'Blue Glow' and 'Blue Flame' Agaves to reassert themselves as the lead performers

A few cobwebs can't mar the beauty of Agave 'Blue Glow'

The squid Agaves (Agave bracteosa) are getting larger but they mingle well with other plants.  They pup like crazy, though.

Centaurea 'Silver Feather' has hardly bloomed at all this year but its foliage is its real claim to fame

Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold' is one of the garden workhorses I mentioned.  I have several of these shrubs scattered about, grown mainly for their yellowish green softly scented foliage.  Their pale pink flowers are mostly done for the season.

Coprosma repens 'Evening Glow' is one of the smaller mirror plants in my garden.  Unlike some, it retains its variegated color.  It's supposed to grow up to 4 feet tall but mine have stayed about a foot high.

Leucadendron 'Cloudbank Ginny' is perhaps more well known for its flowers than its foliage but I was pleased to notice that my plant is bulking up nicely despite this year's pitiful rainfall total

Leucadendron salignum 'Chief' lost about a third of its height a few months ago when I gave it its annual haircut.  It's already regained much of its height.  The summer foliage takes on a lovely red hue than provides a stained glass look when backlit.

Leucadendron 'Jubilee Crown' has been in my front garden for 4.5 years now and I often debate whether it should go.  Unlike most Leucadendrons, its foliage is feathery and I can't say I love its cones but it's another plant that's pretty when backit.

Leucadendron 'Pisa' distinguishes itself for its form, stature and silvery-bronze foliage

I don't commonly think of Leucospermums as great foliage plants but I find the form and foliage of this Leucospermum 'Goldie' very appealing even when its flowers are gone

Lomandra longifolia 'Breeze' is another of my garden's workhorses.  It's a great low-maintenance grass substitute.  I have clumps in both my front and back gardens.  I couldn't even guess at the number off the top of my head.

I've slowly acquired a LOT of Mangaves.  The two in the colorful pots here are Mangave 'Bad Hair Day'.  They sit on either side of our front door.  I previously tried growing one in the ground but this type is much better suited to pot culture.

Mangave 'Coffee Jitters' also seems best suited to a pot (although would perhaps be better presented without a hose bib behind it).  This one was a gift from Gerhard of Succulents & More when he visited my garden earlier this year.

Mangave 'Jaguar' on the other hand does fine planted in the ground

These are two of my original Mangaves, 'Lavender Lady' and 'Bloodspot'.  'Bloodspot' was acquired in 2015 and 'Lavender Lady' came on board in 2017.  I've got many more Mangaves but I'll share them at another time.

This is the heartiest bromeliad in my collection, Neoregelia 'Guinea x Pepper'.  It's equally happy in a pot and in the ground.

Acquired earlier this year, this is diminutive Aeonium sedifolium.  Isn't it sweet?

This is Haworthiopsis attentuata (aka zebra haworthia).  I've got this one and a couple others planted in the ground but I think I probably should move them to a pot where they'd be more readily visible.  They have colored up nicely here, though.